Holiday Update
December 17, 2010 (some of you may recieve this in my holiday card/letter)
Merry Christmas!! This year has brought a whole host of changes. Last year I was celebrating Christmas and New Years in Bangladesh and Malaysia with a great group of non-biological family. This year will be with my family and friends.
In July I finished up my term with MCC in South Asia. This was such an integral part of my life and it has been hard adjusting back into American life. I do however feel God working through this to help me grow nearer to the Lord. I am currently living at home with my parents, 2 sisters and their husbands and one nephew and one niece. Living with family like so many other things has it’s ups and down. I am learning a lot about adjusting and also about being me.
In November I started a job at Humane Ohio, a low-cost spay/neuter clinic in Toledo, Ohio. I really love the people I work with and the mission of the organization is to have no more homeless pets. I can really get behind that and I have. We do on average around 60 animals (cats and dogs) a day. Because we are specialized and can be very efficient, we keep the cost very low. We have clients from many breed rescue organizations and shelters from the surrounding counties. Even though I have a job, I am still looking for other jobs and trying to discern where else, if anywhere, God is leading me.
I am also working with my sister on creating a business plan for our home farm. We would like to “expand” into community supported, locally raised farm products. Currently we are looking at expanding our garden, fruit orchard, chicken/turkey housing, and modification of the cow barn into an automated milking set-up. In the summer I hope to have canning classes. I am really excited about this and we have started researching alternative agriculture methods and business plans. We are also praying for a method to fund all of this.
Year in highlight:
• Went to World Dairy Expo with my parents. It was their first time!
• Visited Sri Lanka and the UK!
• Started a paying job!
• Will be helping out with area Bible Quiz!!
• Ate lots of sandwiches.
• Started marathon training. (May ‘11- Indianapolis 500 Half-marathon, October ’11 Detroit Marathon)
• New niece Adalynn was baptized and I am one of the sponsors! Total number of nieces and nephews is now seven!
• Found someone in the area that speaks Bangla. (One of Humane Ohio’s vet’s husband’s family is originally from Dhaka.)
• The FAIR!!!!
Highlight Lesson of the Year:
Love. I learned a lot about love. I think I learn about this most every year, and I think its pretty important. I don’t know why, but I seem to have a heart for the rejected, dejected and lost. This, I’ve found, is really hard. Normally, people and things have a capability to give you back some of the love you give them. This group tends not to be able to do this. That leaves a person giving and giving and not really receiving. Now here lies the important part. Loving someone should not depend on them reciprocating that love. Jesus didn’t say, “poo poo” to the people that didn’t love him. He loved them even when- especially when- the love was not returned. It is through God we are filled with love and not necessarily through the reciprocation of those we love. I know this sounds like common sense, but I’ve found in practice it is not so simple. One person or thing rejects us and we say, “poo on you! I don’t need you anyway.” If someone said, “great! I love you anyway” we’d think them insane, but I am convinced that is what we are to do. As I grow I hope to get better at this.
I hope you have a blessed holiday season and a happy “new year.”
Peace, Hope and Love,
Jodi R. Crossgrove
Merry Christmas!! This year has brought a whole host of changes. Last year I was celebrating Christmas and New Years in Bangladesh and Malaysia with a great group of non-biological family. This year will be with my family and friends.
In July I finished up my term with MCC in South Asia. This was such an integral part of my life and it has been hard adjusting back into American life. I do however feel God working through this to help me grow nearer to the Lord. I am currently living at home with my parents, 2 sisters and their husbands and one nephew and one niece. Living with family like so many other things has it’s ups and down. I am learning a lot about adjusting and also about being me.
In November I started a job at Humane Ohio, a low-cost spay/neuter clinic in Toledo, Ohio. I really love the people I work with and the mission of the organization is to have no more homeless pets. I can really get behind that and I have. We do on average around 60 animals (cats and dogs) a day. Because we are specialized and can be very efficient, we keep the cost very low. We have clients from many breed rescue organizations and shelters from the surrounding counties. Even though I have a job, I am still looking for other jobs and trying to discern where else, if anywhere, God is leading me.
I am also working with my sister on creating a business plan for our home farm. We would like to “expand” into community supported, locally raised farm products. Currently we are looking at expanding our garden, fruit orchard, chicken/turkey housing, and modification of the cow barn into an automated milking set-up. In the summer I hope to have canning classes. I am really excited about this and we have started researching alternative agriculture methods and business plans. We are also praying for a method to fund all of this.
Year in highlight:
• Went to World Dairy Expo with my parents. It was their first time!
• Visited Sri Lanka and the UK!
• Started a paying job!
• Will be helping out with area Bible Quiz!!
• Ate lots of sandwiches.
• Started marathon training. (May ‘11- Indianapolis 500 Half-marathon, October ’11 Detroit Marathon)
• New niece Adalynn was baptized and I am one of the sponsors! Total number of nieces and nephews is now seven!
• Found someone in the area that speaks Bangla. (One of Humane Ohio’s vet’s husband’s family is originally from Dhaka.)
• The FAIR!!!!
Highlight Lesson of the Year:
Love. I learned a lot about love. I think I learn about this most every year, and I think its pretty important. I don’t know why, but I seem to have a heart for the rejected, dejected and lost. This, I’ve found, is really hard. Normally, people and things have a capability to give you back some of the love you give them. This group tends not to be able to do this. That leaves a person giving and giving and not really receiving. Now here lies the important part. Loving someone should not depend on them reciprocating that love. Jesus didn’t say, “poo poo” to the people that didn’t love him. He loved them even when- especially when- the love was not returned. It is through God we are filled with love and not necessarily through the reciprocation of those we love. I know this sounds like common sense, but I’ve found in practice it is not so simple. One person or thing rejects us and we say, “poo on you! I don’t need you anyway.” If someone said, “great! I love you anyway” we’d think them insane, but I am convinced that is what we are to do. As I grow I hope to get better at this.
I hope you have a blessed holiday season and a happy “new year.”
Peace, Hope and Love,
Jodi R. Crossgrove
posted by Jodi Crossgrove at
12:08 PM
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